I know I want to add a block at the back, the mainsheet just doesnt slide smoothly with the carry handle in place. Ill probably rig up a front block as well as ive seen some people do.

I know I need the Sailing rudder regardless of sailing, so everyone says, and Im probably going to get the ST Turbo fins as well since they serve dual purposes as well.

Question is regarding the mast. it seems flimsy as does the sail.

With the sail im worried about crinkling? it, ie, it seems like its plastic and will hold creases if it takes one from being stored badly one time or getting crumpled for some reason. At 300 bucks I assume its a little better than I think, also because I havent read folks complaining about its quality.

Regarding the mast, it seems very flimsy? Ive ready before about people stiffening them, but do I need to do that with the new mast. Mine has the two pice construction with the bungie cord that sorts pulls the two pieces together. but then it flexes a lot in wind.

Finally the AMA's. Necessary? When not sailing it would seem the cross bar would be annoying?

Loving my revo, just wanting to improve my experience so thanks for any feedback

Archae, I use the standard mast with the two halves taped together (duct tape) and just roll the sail up to store it. Some people like to take it apart and fold it. You might try folding it in half and then rolling it. Try to avoid creases when you can, but don't worry too much about it.

The bending mast helps your sail dump air in sudden gusts and acts as a safety valve, especially if you don't use the Sidekick. It also relieves stress on the mast hole. Some have stiffened the mast successfully, but a few have overstressed the mast hole also. I wouldn't recommend it until you gain some experience with the sail and still want to take that risk.

I don't use a Sidekick, preferring the added excitement. A lot of folks use it -- it lets them relax much more while sailing. You might try without it first and see if you're comfortable. Although it is generally mounted right behind the cockpit for easy adjustment and set-up from your seat, you can mount it anyplace you like.

[img]Archae, I posted my rigging improvements for my Revo a while back. Here is a link [url]http://www.hobiecat.com/community/viewtopic.php?t=7065&highlight=improved+rigging
I lake sail in New Mexico which tends to get very gusty winds with many changes in direction. The better rigging really helps; quick response and easy to operate.

I sailed without amas for a year but now I use them whenever there are white caps. It's much more relaxing as there are no more worries about capsizing. They do increase your wind profile if you're pedaling straight into the wind. The center tube for the amas was longer than I wanted so I trimmed off a few inches and redrilled the 3 holes for the adjuster. You can see it in the pics I linked to above.

My mast bent just above the mast hole in very strong winds. I straightened out the bend and then put a 3 ft. oak dowel in the lowest portion for added strength. I'm not sure if this is the smartest move but its worked out so far.[/url][/img]

Archae, I posted my rigging improvements for my Revo a while back. Here is a link [url]http://www.hobiecat.com/community/viewtopic.php?t=7065&highlight=improved+rigging
I lake sail in New Mexico which tends to get very gusty winds with many changes in direction. The better rigging really helps; quick response and easy to operate.

I sailed without amas for a year but now I use them whenever there are white caps. It's much more relaxing as there are no more worries about capsizing. They do increase your wind profile if you're pedaling straight into the wind. The center tube for the amas was longer than I wanted so I trimmed off a few inches and redrilled the 3 holes for the adjuster. You can see it in the pics I linked to above.

My mast bent just above the mast hole in very strong winds. I straightened out the bend and then put a 3 ft. oak dowel in the lowest portion for added strength. I'm not sure if this is the smartest move but its worked out so far.[/url]

Archae, I posted my rigging improvements for my Revo a while back. Here is a link [url]http://www.hobiecat.com/community/viewtopic.php?t=7065&highlight=improved+rigging[/url]
I lake sail in New Mexico which tends to get very gusty winds with many changes in direction. The better rigging really helps; quick response and easy to operate.

I sailed without amas for a year but now I use them whenever there are white caps. It's much more relaxing as there are no more worries about capsizing. They do increase your wind profile if you're pedaling straight into the wind. The center tube for the amas was longer than I wanted so I trimmed off a few inches and redrilled the 3 holes for the adjuster. You can see it in the pics I linked to above.

My mast bent just above the mast hole in very strong winds. I straightened out the bend and then put a 3 ft. oak dowel in the lowest portion for added strength. I'm not sure if this is the smartest move but its worked out so far.[/url]

Took it out sailing on the large pond behind our house today, probably about 12 mph winds. Reason the "lake" is good to practice on is that the winds shift constantly on it so it lets me get use to suddenly shifting weight to counter a heel.

Manages 5.1mph on one downwind haul, so pretty happy with it.

Plan now is to get another sail batten and run it through the boom line.

Also going to do Wing-It's rigging job, its just too clean and would definitely allow dumping sail faster when necessary, the back eyelet just isnt shaped right for it with the carry T handle in place.

Got to decide about the AMA's. Thinking the metal cross bar for supporting them would make it a pain in the butt to put the sail or oar on and off, got to see them in use sometime.

Also, can you store them in the front hatch, they are inflatable right?

So far so great with the Revo, got a good fishing rig going (used the RAM eagle mount for my gps/ff this weekend, just front of the stbd mesh pocket).

Archae, I had a piece of wood large enough to make the cup holder insert. I cut it to shape most of the way with a hand saw and then used and electric sander with very course sandpaper. It was labor intensive and took too long with a lot of fine tuning. The easier way would be to find a round cylinder of wood that mostly fills the cup holder. Then glue and screw an extra piece on to fit into the slot. This piece keeps the whole thing from rotating and provides the space for attaching the block. If the round piece fits too loosely, I'd just wrap some high grade duct tape (or better yet, gorilla tape) around it to make it fit snugly. The pull on the sheet will not dislodge the wood because of the angle of pull. I keep it from falling out when upside down with the metal plate I cut using tin snips. Its from a hardware store and comes in a rectangular shape (probably for holding pieces of wood together) with holes predrilled that just happened to match up.

The outside block on the stbd side is just to keep the line out of the storage area where my dog rides. I used a cheap hardware oval with locking screw. First I bent it more open so that I could fit it around the existing black bungee holder. Then with the block on it, I bent it back to oval and closed the screw. It won't come off and keeps you from having to drill a new hole.

The amas stash in the front hatch very easily when deflated. The paddle still fits (barely) on the paddle holder under the amas crossbar. Not quite as good when stashing the sail but these days I roll reef the sail around the mast. Unhook the sail down haul bungee and rotate the mast and sail till the sail in all rolled up. Take an addition wrap with the bungee and hook it on the loop. Put some tension on the main sheet and it stays tightly rolled. To unfurl the sail just unhook the bungee and pull on the main sheet. By the way, I do not think this will be possible with another sail batten in the boom line.

That is a great mod wingit! Archae- if you use poly cutting board instead of wood it may be easier. The poly board is easily worked and can be cut with a jigsaw. It doesn't need sealing either- although it probably wouldn't look as good!

One trick I found for easier furling of the Hobie sail: slice a section of pool noodle lengthwise and attach it to the mast just above the mast step, and bungie it down tight. Use a piece of rubber matting (like from a toolbox drawer) under the pool noodle for a non-slip grip on the mast. This setup increase the diameter of the mast to a couple of inches, so you can grip and rotate it easier to furl the sail.

I could never get the hang of rolling up all that sheeting. so I use snap hooks for both the mainsheet and "tail" to make furling and set-up as quick and simple as possible.

When furling, simply unsnap the sheet, dismount the sail and roll it up in seconds. The mainsheet stays in position already rigged for instant re-use. When done, the sheet stows in the boat where it is also available as an emergency line. Here it is ready to stow:

When furled, the sail secures with a short snap on tail that wraps around and locks it for easy stowing on the boat. When unfurled, you can take if off and snap it on a nearby eyelet or seat hook for easy retrieval:

The sail stows securely out of the way on deck and can be set up again in less than a minute:
This arrangement works well if you change activities a lot on the water.

Right now I leave the mainsheet attached because its going through the aft padeye and I dont want to crawl back there to redo it in wavy water, though with my AMA's now thats no longer really a threat, but still inconvienant.

As RR mentioned leave the main sheet rigged until done sailing for the day,I clip my sail clew connection clipped to a padeye at the mast step and cleat off the main sheet, stays tidy but ready to deploy.
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